I was thinking actually the other day about games I have played this year, and my mind sort of got transfixed on Downpour. It is, critically, the lowest reviewed Silent Hill game to date. I don't think it deserved that fate at all though, I feel it was more of a victim to circumstance and current feelings towards the franchise than it was a terrible game. Not saying it was a really good game either, though. As I like to say, Downpour was both the best and worst Silent Hill game to come out since Silent Hill games went third-party.
What I really liked about Downpour was its world. I enjoyed it most when it built up its world, let players explore and partake in one of the many side-quest that are available to partake in the town. I can legitimately say it was a joy to explore the town and uncover weird areas and missions, some of which you transition into without realizing it. I loved the attention to detail and the strange atmosphere the town gave. It really gave me a feel that SH was a real town, and it was interesting to explore areas of the town. I also really enjoyed the puzzles (some were actually fairly challenging), and I felt the game was littered with cool moments, and even moments I can say I got legitimately unnerved at.
But then it's weaknesses come in. The game had technical problems, the enemies just weren't interesting, the Otherworld segments feel more like roller coaster rides and feel like such a missed opportunity to take advantage of the world they build up, and I agree the end prison area is probably the weakest part of the game. And above all else, it just doesn't feel like a Silent Hill game, it felt like a modern take on an old-school horror game. Had it not been for a few references and the title, if they had called it something else, I would have never guessed outside of fog use that it was a Silent Hill game. And while I actually liked Murphy as a character, the story in Downpour was pretty weak. Not Homecoming weak, but still rather flat.
But despite all of this I can only recall Downpour fondly, and even replaying it a couple months ago I had a good time with it. I legitimately liked the slower, more environment-building area of the mines. I was intrigued by the puzzles and almost labyrinth layout of the library. And the Monastery was a joy for me, almost feeling like something taken out of a European horror movie. All of this was wrapped in what I found to be an enjoyable overworld I had fun exploring with some legitimately varied and interesting quests... But for all it did right, it also did wrong, and unfortunately will probably be passed off by most as 'another shitty Silent Hill game.'
